Heavy torrential rains in West Africa have caused flooding in several cities and affected over 350,000 people.

In Burkina Faso, this is the worst flooding in 40 years. Burkina Faso is the last country that suffered the impact of these torrential rains that flooded the capital, Ouagadougou, in a few hours. About 110,000 inhabitants of this city have taken refuge in public buildings and another 40,000 are housed in private homes. The central and northern cities are also flooded. According to latest data, there are at least five dead and more than 150,000 affected. The Burkinabe government has appealed for international aid.

There were also deaths due to rainfall in Ghana, where 25 people were killed and vast areas were flooded.

Thousands of people were also affected by torrential rainfall in Guinea, particularly in the capital Conakry, where over 6,000 people have been rendered homeless. The upsurge in the three rivers that cross the town of Kindia affected another 10,000 Guineans.

The breakdown of a protective dam in Niger due to rains destroyed 3,500 homes, devastated 400 hectares of crops, and damaged many buildings.

Benin is the first state in western Africa that received aid from the Coordination Team and Disaster Management of the UN in 2009 due to heavy rains in July which affected 20,000 people and flooded 43 communities.

Via Yahoo! News